Prom wasn’t all that long ago for most of us, but I haven’t heard of one which a zombie attended, until now.
Running from Oct. 25 to Nov. 10, DVC’s department of drama presents “Zombie Prom,” a musical in the style of the 1950s good-girl and bad-boy love story movies. With a stellar cast, great original songs and plenty of laughs, it’s likely to leave you with a smile on your face.
“Zombie Prom” was created in 1993 by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe, and has since been performed on Broadway and made into a short film available on YouTube. Director and choreographer Lisa Drummond encountered the musical about 10 years ago, and after reading through the show and hearing the score, she fell in love.
“It’s such a fun, silly show,” Drummond says. “It does a good job of making us look at the atomic age and the sci-fi movies of the 1950’s with a charming humor.”
And before you scoff at the idea, thinking you’ve seen it all, this story actually takes the classic love story and flips it on its head, for family pressure forces good girl Toffee to break up with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Jonny.
He’s so distraught, that he throws himself into the local nuclear waste silo. Only instead of dying, true love brings him back as a zombie on a mission: to take his girl to the prom.
There is going to be a lot of cool special effects, including use of black light to make Jonny’s zombie form and the cast’s costumes different during certain scenes. This musical also includes a lot of history about the atomic age, including a duck and cover piece where the lovebirds meet, which Enrico Real, who plays Jonny, says is one of his favorite scenes.
Real believes that there is something for everyone in this show, as it is contemporary in its approach, high energy and perfect for a Halloween-time date night.
“It’s campy and has a heightened sense of reality, but is also truthful and intimate at the same time,” Real said.
The musical is unique in that it has the entire ensemble onstage for most of the show, so there are many characters and relationships to pull you in.
William Freitas, who plays Jimmy, describes the show as “fantastically fun,” and says that there “will be lots of color, lots of action, humor, drama” and that “it’s going to be a blast.”
Adrienne Hernaez, who plays Toffee’s friend Candy, believes that it is good for all ages, with content that each age group can enjoy.
So no matter what age you are, if you haven’t ever seen one, and think musicals are just operatic snoozers, or especially if you missed your own prom like lead Real did, then this is your chance to laugh, escape into the 50’s, and open up your world to the incredible talent and hard work of DVC’s drama department.
